James Mallard, a lifetime member of the NAACP Fort Worth Chapter, cleans up broken glass from one of the vandalized doors of the Fort Worth Tarrant County NAACP building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Chris Torres
ctorres@star-telegram.com
Three buildings off Evans Avenue in the Historic Southside neighborhood — including an NAACP office and a predominantly Black church — were vandalized this week.
Fort Worth police said that the crimes were not racially motivated.
The Ella Mae Shamblee Library, the headquarters for the NAACP Fort Worth/Tarrant County branch, and Mount Zion Baptist Church were found with broken windows and doors the morning of Tuesday, April 15.
James Mallard, a lifetime member of the NAACP Fort Worth Chapter, cleans up broken glass from one of the vandalized doors of the Fort Worth Tarrant County NAACP building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Residents swept up glass in front of the NAACP building. One of the front doors of the Shamblee Library was broken. It has been boarded up. A broken window could be seen at the church.
A woman who is believed to be homeless was seen on camera committing the acts. The woman is new to the area, according to a Fort Worth police spokesperson, and officers were still searching for her.
Johnny Lewis, a community advocate for the Historic Southside, says this type of vandalism is not the norm in the community. Mental health resources should be provided for homeless people, Lewis said.
“We do ask for the mental health people to come out and walk through the community and try to get people off the camps, out of these homeless camps, and get them out of our plaza,” Lewis said.
One of the vandalized doors at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
One of the doors is boarded up using a wood plank after the door was vandalized at the Ella Mae Gratts Shamblee Branch Library in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
James Mallard, a lifetime member of the NAACP Fort Worth Chapter, cleans up broken glass from one of the vandalized doors of the Fort Worth Tarrant County NAACP building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Broken glass remains on the floor from one of the vandalized doors of the Fort Worth Tarrant County NAACP building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com
Kamal Morgan covers racial equity issues for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He came to Texas from the Pensacola News Journal in Florida. Send tips to his email or Twitter.
